A Scottish wave energy firm hopes to deploy its technology along the Oregon coastline in the US.

Edinburgh-based Aquamarine Power's US subsidiary has received a grant of $50,000 from the Oregon Wave Energy Trust (OWET) for a feasibility study into using the Oyster wave turbine off the shore of the west coast state.

For the past four months, Aquamarine's Oregon-based team has been liaising with local communities on the most suitable locations to install arrays of Oyster devices.

John Fedorko, director, said: "These crucial extra funds will allow us to study and record Oregon's immense wave-power potential, and the money helps us with one of the most important items in the development process: proving the wave resource at a given site.

"We see this as a strategic first step in bringing utility-scale wave power to Oregon which not only has a great wave resource, but it also has a great environment for doing business."

Jason Busch, executive director of OWET, added: "These feasibility grants have been awarded to companies with proven technology to help develop projects or make wave-energy technology more efficient, longer lasting and cheaper."

The Oyster device uses an oscillating wave surge pump deployed at near-shore depths of 24 to 48ft, to deliver high-pressure water to the shore where it is converted to electrical power using hydro-electric generators.

Aquamarine installed its Oyster 1 wave device in Orkney in 2009 and plans to deploy its next-generation Oyster 2 in Orkney next summer.